DOVER — The Weather Channel has opted to label major snowstorms, similar to hurricanes and other severe systems, but this weekend’s potential blizzard dubbed Nemo by the organization has raised some questions.

The Weather Channel announced it would start the naming systems during the 2012 to 2013 winter season to raise awareness, according to their website. The outlet said attaching a name to a storm makes it easier to follow a weather system’s progress by giving it a “personality” and making it easier to reference in “today’s social media world.”

“Our goal is to better communicate the threat and the timing of the significant impacts that accompany these events,” a statement on the website read. “The fact is, a storm with a name is easier to follow, which will mean fewer surprises and more preparation.”

Friday afternoon, several “hash tags” had taken hold on Twitter, as users tweeted with the label #NemoNH and #SeacoastNEMO. Previously, the early November 2012 nor’easter was named Athena.

But some skeptics say the naming system is futile, and their criticisms have created some controversy around the process. A forecaster at Weather 2000 Inc. told Bloomberg Businessweek the names “have no scientific merit” and accused the Weather Channel of being “arrogant” for assuming others in the industry would follow their suggestion.

The Weather Channel website, weather.com, says their naming system will differ from the process of naming hurricanes, and they will take many factors into account before an appellation is granted. They say the name will reflect factors including snowfall, ice, wind and temperature as well as when the storm takes place.

Nemo, according the site weather.com, is a Greek boy’s name meaning “from the valley” which also means “nobody” in Latin. A New York Times blog post says the Jules Verne character Captain Nemo from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was part of TWC’s brainstorming process and served as inspiration, while some joked in the Twittersphere and on other social media site’s the title rather brought to mind the adorable young clownfish from the Disney Pixar film “Finding Nemo.”

The TWC team stands behind its naming process, stating it is an“ambitious” endeavor.

“This is an ambitious project. However, the benefits will be significant,” they say. “Naming winter storms will raise the awareness of the public, which will lead to more proactive efforts to plan ahead, resulting in less impact and inconvenience overall.”